Outdoor or Indoor Kitty?

To give you some idea of the questions that we wonder about living here, away from all cities or even towns, recently we were discussing whether our cat should be let out to roam a bit, or is it too dangerous with the wild animals around here?

Charley the cat has been an indoor kitty since we got him last August. He was just a kitten then and had no idea where he was. Since then he has grown bored with our great indoors. He wants out!

Friends around here have both encouraged and warned us about letting animals out to roam. Especially dogs seem to disappear if you don’t keep close track of them.

Rasta never goes out without us close by. He was raised a city dog, and has no idea that other animals might come by to eat him. Einstein is his middle name, LOL!

But Charley is a whole different animal. He’s young and strong and a natural hunter. He loves exploring the sunflower groves outside our home, and he’s a great mouser. He needs to go out, it seems.

So this morning we let him out for a while. He loved it! I guess we’ll keep a close eye on him, and let him out a bit in the morning when most animals aren’t prowling for a meal. We’d hate to lose him.

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10 thoughts on “Outdoor or Indoor Kitty?”

Both Rasta and Charley are adorable. Don’t know if you have them, but be mindful of any birds of prey in your area. They can grab a small dog or cat in their talons and fly off with them. Keep those babies close!

A dog, yes, but how do you keep track of a cat? Your idea of limiting outdoor forays to mornings when animals of prey are sleeping off the night before sounds like the safest way to go. Such different issues from letting pets out when you live near a busy road.

I, too, live at Navajo Ranch, and I have heard of so many people losing their cats out here. Is there some way you can provide a safe place where your cat can enjoy the outdoors? We screened in our deck so that our cats have a safe space, and they love it! They spend many happy hours out there, and they even catch the occasional mouse or lizard. (By the way, I am really enjoying your blog about your experiences in our beautiful area.)

It’s a hard one. She really wants to be outside, it’s her nature. The first thing I’d do if it were me is get a cat door and let her go in an out all she wants. But then again, I’d be heartbroken if she didn’t come back one day. 😦

We built what we call the “Catio”. It is a 8x16x8 wood frame enclosure with 2×4 welded wire around the sides and top. There is also a door allowing us to enter and sit or play with kittens. It is attached to the house with a small tunnel which fits into a panel of wood inserted into the area of a raised window. The panel also has a cat door allowing them to come and go as they please. Because of course they need to come in to use the cat box. Domestic cats are not able to defend themselves from much of the outdoor wildlife. I would feel terrible to lose ours and this has worked perfectly. The cost was modest at around 500. and my husband built it by himself.